Markup languages are specially designed to allow efficient and comfortable methods for organizing and viewing document(s). A special viewer, also known as a parser, enables identifying, viewing, and browsing through document elements. Document elements are identified by the utilization of special tags which are embedded into the document and which designate the element's purpose and/or function. The Markup language documents are usually arranged in some hierarchical form, and identified elements within the documents are usually linked to other elements in the document, or in other documents, by the tags mentioned above.
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is a standard for specifying document markup languages (tag set). The HyperText Markup Language (HTML), for instance, is an SGML application widely used today for publishing files on the Internet. HTML documents on the Internet are usually linked with, and/or comprise links to, other documents, which may be on the same server, or on another server in a computer network or sub-network. This linking of HTML documents over the Internet enables users to access published and unpublished data, stored on Internet servers all over the world, on what has become the worldwide information highway.
Most of the HTML documents published on the Internet today have links to many other documents, which will most often comprise more links. This linking may be illustrated in the form of a web; therefore, HTML documents which comprise many links to related documents are usually referred to as web sites. The most convenient and popular way of viewing HTML documents over the Internet is by using an HTML parser, also known as Internet browser (e.g., Netscape). The HTML browsers are designed to allow the authors of such documents to comprise stylish and colorful texts, and many other types of multimedia content, such as image, audio, and Flash, animations, videos, etc.
When the user launches the Internet browser, a selected HTML document, also known as the home page, is loaded and presented to the user. The home page may be chosen to be any HTML document on the Internet, but in general, these are HTML documents comprising search engines, and many links to other documents from a wide range of fields of interest. This HTML documents are also known as portals, and as implied, they indeed provide a portal to the Internet for the average user.
When accessing such a portal, the user is presented with links to documents, which are usually arranged in categories, such as Music and Arts, Sports, News, Games, etc. The user may select and view the content of a category or a document, simply by indicating his selection with a pointing device (e.g., mouse), and clicking the appropriate button on said device. This is the most common way for browsing the Internet, but it requires some basic skills. The user should be familiar with the document language, and in addition, the user should be capable of operating a pointing device, such as a mouse.
A great percentage of the HTML documents on the Internet are in the English language. However, although knowledge of the English language may greatly assist the average user in finding documents in a certain field of interest, in many cases the desired information is not linked to any of the categories in the common Internet portal. In such cases, the user may use the search engine for finding documents, which may concern, or relate to, the desired information. Searching the Internet is most often not a simple task. To efficiently find the right documents, a search strategy is required. Since a regular search is based on keywords, it will most often result in hundreds or thousands of documents comprising the searched keywords.
Such difficulties prevent users with mental and/or physical disabilities from accessing and interacting with the Internet, the worldwide information highway. In addition, the conventional SGML designs and interfaces require basic skills for users' interaction, such as comprehension of the document language, motor skills and coordination (i.e., operating a pointing device). Such skills may not yet be developed in children of young age (i.e., before the age of six), and may raise substantial difficulties for elderly populations to acquire. Furthermore, other populations with physical disabilities may also find it advantageous to be provided with access devices and related systems that help them overcome the difficulties caused by their disabilities.
Thus, there is a need for dedicated designs and apparatus allowing users, young children, elderly populations, and/or those with mental and/or physical disabilities (e.g., visually impaired), lacking the full skills required to interact with, and browse, markup language documents on computerized systems and/or over the Internet.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for launching dedicated applications and for loading predefined documents utilizing a dedicated input device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus enabling young children, elderly populations, and users with mental and/or physical disabilities to access dedicated content/information over the Internet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for creating and maintaining a safe Internet environment, enabling young children and other sensitive populations, such as elderly or impaired people, to interact with, and participate in, dedicated activities and applications over the Internet, and disallow access to other Web sites.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.